Instructor Class Description

Business Plan Practicum

Enables students interested in new venture creation to explore their entrepreneurial aptitude, formulate their ideas, validate the opportunity, develop a business plan, and demonstrate the depth of their knowledge by preparing an executive summary and competing in the UW Business Plan Competition. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: W.

Class description

This course prepares students for success in the 2014 UW Business Plan Competition (BPC). The scope of the course includes the development of a new venture from idea generation through business planning, funding and startup. Students will learn from assigned reading, class discussions, and guest lectures delivered by some of Seattle’s most accomplished entrepreneurs and subject-matter experts

Student learning goals

1. How the Business Plan Competition works including entry requirements, stages of competition, judging criteria, and prizes for winners.

2. How to craft a business plan that makes sense and attracts investors (BPC judges).

3. What it’s like to start a new company and some pitfalls to avoid.

4. What life as an entrepreneur is like and some of the pros and cons as a career path.

5. How to build a network of contacts within the entrepreneurial community.

General method of instruction

Lecture, guest speakers and panel discussions

Recommended preparation

None

Class assignments and grading

Required Reading: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

Grading
ENTRE 440/540 is a 2 credit, Pass/Fail course. Passing performance will be based on the following criteria.

Attendance and Class Participation (25%)
To receive credit for this course, students must attend at least 8 of the 10 classes. A sign-in sheet will be distributed at every class and your signature is required to confirm attendance.
Students are also expected to be conversant with the required reading and prepared to participate in class discussions.
Business Opportunity Assessment (75%)
A Business Opportunity Assessment (BOA) is a precursor to development of a full business plan. It addresses all the key points of a business plan but at a lower level of detail. Its purpose is to gain an early assessment of an idea’s feasibility and identify major weaknesses and risk factors.
The BOA assignment consists of two parts:
1) Written answers to each question in the BOA assignment (7 pages max) (50% of grade)
2) BOA presentation in class (10 PPT slides) (25% of grade)
A more detailed description of this assignment will be emailed to enrolled students the first week of class. An advance copy may be found on Canvas (“Business Opportunity Assessment Assignment”). Write-ups will be evaluated on the basis of completeness (addressing all questions) and the depth of thought communicated.
Students may do this assignment alone or with 1-3 other team members (max team size is 4).
• Preliminary submission (questions 1-3) due: January 31
• Written Business Opportunity Assessment (7 pages maximum) due: March 10
• Five (5) minute in-class presentation (10 PPT slides): March 13

“AHA!” Emails (optional but encouraged)
Students are encouraged to submit a brief email after each class describing their most important take-away or “aha” from the class. What did you learn? Did a particular comment or thought surprise you or open some new avenue of thinking? Are you puzzled by something, or do you have questions?
These emails help the instructor communicate with students one-on-one and respond to questions or requests for clarification.
• Include “AHA email” in subject line and send to: Teckmann@UW.edu

The information above is intended to be helpful in choosing courses. Because the instructor may further develop his/her plans for this course, its characteristics are subject to change without notice. In most cases, the official course syllabus will be distributed on the first day of class.
Last Update by Thomas E. Eckmann
Date: 12/10/2013

Office of the Registrar
For problems and questions about this web page contact icd@u.washington.edu,
otherwise contact the instructor or department directly.
Modified:April 23, 2014